Daily Archives: March 23, 2009

PISCATAWAY — Heather Zurich’s reverse layup was emphatically turned back the other way, one of the few lowlights in a first-half full of highs for the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

But before the ball had a chance to bounce Kia Vaughn snared it, lunging her 6-foot-4 frame forward and in one motion rolling in a layup.

It was that kind of evening for the Scarlet Knights, a game of highlight-reel thrills that added up to a 80-52 victory over second-seeded Auburn on Monday night in the NCAA Tournament.

The victory, before 3,348 raucous fans at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, sent Rutgers to the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight season, and more than makes up for a regular season that coach C. Vivian Stringer called the most frustrating of her career.

“”I have a headache thinking about it,” said Stringer, forcing herself to smile after her team won for the seventh time in nine outings. “”It doesn’t matter where we’ve come from, it’s where we’re going. And ultimately we proved to be a much better team than we showed early in the year.”

Epiphanny Prince scored 11 straight points during a 13-2 run in the second half that helped Rutgers pull away. (Photo by Augusto F. Menezes/HNT)

Epiphanny Prince led four players in double figures with 27 points as the seventh-seeded Scarlet Knights (21-12) earned a meeting with sixth-seeded Purdue on Sunday night in Oklahoma City.

Vaughn chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Zurich and Brittany Ray scored 12 apiece for the Scarlet Knights, who look every bit like the national championship contender they were billed as in the beginning of the season.

“”My hat’s off to them and I fully expect them to get to the Final Four,” Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. “”Not to put any pressure on them but they are good enough to get there.”

Simply put, this was the Scarlet Knights’ most impressive showing of the season.

In fact, it proved to be one of the Scarlet Knights’ most impressive showings in Stringer’s 14-year tenure.

“”Was this the best? It might be,” Stringer said. “”It’s darn sure one of the finest performances.””

This game was never in doubt after Rutgers scored on a Khadijah Rushdan layup three seconds after tipoff. The Scarlet Knights scored the game’s first nine points and led 13-2 after the first media timeout, taking advantage of Auburn’s 1-for-6 shooting and two turnovers while connecting on five of their first eight shots.

It would only get worse for the Tigers (30-4), who trailed 22-4 eight minutes into the game and were clearly shaken by an electric RAC atmosphere.

Auburn, which was forced to play on Rutgers’ home court despite ending the regular season ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25, missed 13 of its first 15 shots while the Scarlet Knights countered by making eight of their first 14 from the field.

“”I was looking at some of the shots thinking, “Wow, that’s pretty good,’‚” Stringer quipped. “”We don’t usually shoot like that. I was ecstatic to see us play this way. I’m really proud of this entire team. They stepped up big-time.”

It is late March, and around here that usually means one thing. The Rutgers University women’s basketball team is in the NCAA Tournament, and coach C. Vivian Stringer has them playing at a high level.

That was the story again Monday night, as Rutgers moved on to its fifth straight Sweet Sixteen by leveling eighth-ranked Auburn 80-52 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

Like many high-scoring teams, second-seeded Auburn came here averaging more than 77 points a game. The Tigers had played many teams this year as good as Rutgers, some even better. But they had not run into a defense like they did Monday night.

Rutgers threw its signature defense at the Tigers, dragging them down like they were shot from behind with a tranquilizer.

Auburn’s 6-foot-4 senior DeWanna Bonner, the SEC Player of the Year, disappeared like a kitten into tall grass. She was never a factor.

Tiquan Underwood was one of 17 former Scarlet Knights participating in the Rutgers Football Pro Combine on Monday. (Photo by Ed Pagliarini/MyCentralJersey.com)

PISCATAWAY — As one of the foremost NFL Draft experts in the business, Mike Mayock’s schedule is quite busy these days.

But NFL.com’s lead draft analyst wasn’t about to miss the Rutgers Football Pro Day on Monday.

“This is a pretty impressive stop,” Mayock said. “”I think what happens is success begets success. They’ve recruited well. When you look at all the kids that come through here, the body fat, you don’t see sloppy kids here. They’re all in shape, and I look at the height, weight, vertical, broad jump, all that kind of stuff, and it matches up with the big-time programs.

“I was at LSU, Georgia and Florida last week, and they match up. This program matches up.”

Judging by the turnout of NFL scouts, apparently Mayock isn’t the only one who made Rutgers a must on the Pro Day tour. In all, there were 41 scouts from 27 NFL teams, including representatives from both the Jets and Giants, who attended Rutgers’ combine today.

The scouts evaluated 17 former Scarlet Knights, including 11 who played on last season’s PapaJohn’s.com Bowl-winning squad.

“There are better players so there’s more attention to it,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “”And the more draftable guys we have, the bigger this will become each year. I think it’s great. It’s great for our younger players as well. It becomes a reality for them when they see their buddies getting an opportunity and then ended up getting drafted.”

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About the Author

Jerry CarinoJerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.E-mail Jerry

Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004 and began covering Shore Conference sports full time in September 2006. He is a 2004 graduate of Springfield College with a degree in communications/sports journalism.E-mail Josh

Ryan DunleavyRyan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.E-mail Ryan